Howard Pyle, a chronicle by Charles D. Abbott, with an introduction by N. C. Wyeth and many illustrations from Howard Pyle's works.

HOWARD PYLE: A CHRONICLE
Swedish background of Wilmington was slowly absorbed
into the new orderliness of the Friends. From that time the
colony developed steadily; its Quaker population took as
active a part in the separation from England as its religious
tenets would permit, and Delaware was the first state to
recognize the worth of the Constitution.
After the strenuous times of the Revolution and after the
final settling of things to something like quietude, there was
a general increase in literary and artistic interest among
these people. The Quakers, educated for generations, read
nearly all the prevalent literature of the day. They were
absorbed in the radical movements of the time; Wilmington
was a hotbed of anti-slaveryism. Liberalism was the natural result of the uninterrupted development of Quaker
culture. Further, the desire for intellectual advance made
the people unusually receptive to spiritualism and all the
other isms of the day--often leading whole communities of
advanced Friends into rambling fields of aimless speculation. This spirit of mental curiosity also tended to develop
men and women possessing remarkable broad-mindedness,
remarkable literary and artistic vision. Among others it
evolved Bayard Taylor, a member of the same family which
was later to produce Howard Pyle.
It was into such a state of society that Howard Pyle was
born on March 5, 1 853. He was sprung on both sides of
the family from old Quaker stock, some of his forbears
being among those who came over originally in the Welcome. Both his father, William Pyle, and his mother,
Margaret Churchman Pyle, were persons of unusual culture; both were vital influences throughout his early development. His mother, in particular, was an eager spirit,
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